Devil May Cry 4 Hands-On

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Hacking and slashing in Capcom's popular action series.

By Charles Onyett

Look at your right arm. Most likely it's extended to a mouse or keyboard, but imagine if, say, it was infused with demonic power. It'd have a flashy neon blue glow to it. You'd have claws. A spirit fist could occasionally blast forward to throttle the back bumper of that driver in front of you who insists on going 45 miles per hour in the fast lane. You could snatch the cup of coffee from that guy in the office who, without fail, uses the machine every time you wander in to get your own. You could turn on the TV from the other room without needing a remote control. Clearly, the possibilities are endless.

Such an arm is just what protagonist Nero has in Devil May Cry 4, though such practical demon arm solutions aren't employed in the game. Instead, the phantom fist is used to yank enemies into attack range or pull Nero toward them, ideally opening up a better opportunity for attack.

DMC 4 is an action game, the fourth installment of Capcom's series started way back on Sony's PlayStation 2 back in 2001. It's traditionally been a console series, but Capcom has been making efforts to branch out. The PC version of Devil May Cry 3, for instance, showed up in 2006, though it hit a few obstacles in its transition that knocked out some of the fun. Other Capcom properties, like Lost Planet and Resident Evil 4, have shown up on the PC recently, and upcoming games such as Dark Void, Bionic Commando and, as strange as it may seem, Street Fighter IV will arrive in the future. Now if only Dead Rising could wade across the platform gap....

Capcom's commitment to delivering its twitchy, mechanics-focused experiences on the PC means those without consoles can experience some different styles of gameplay and some new styles of action hero. While many North American gamers might groan when they see yet another fashion conscious male who deals damage both physical and emotional with monolithic weaponry and blunted witticisms, it really isn't that far off from most American-made characters. Gears of War's Marcus Fenix is the perfect example. His armor is a little more utilitarian, his weapons slightly smaller, his color palette less radiant, but he's still just as irreverent, just as capable of delivering eye-rolling lines before brutally decimating the opposition.

An easier parallel can be drawn between Fenix and Devil May Cry's perennial star Dante than DMC 4 newcomer Nero, if only because Dante and Fenix have more squarish jaws and generally a more detached perspective with regards to their surroundings. Even though the majority of DMC 4 puts you in control of the younger Nero, there's quite a bit of similarity to the series' previous star when it comes to appearances. Nero, like Dante, has white hair, though it's parted differently. Nero, like Dante, carries a sword and a gun (but just one with a double barrel), launches opponents into the air to perform multihit combos, and must chain together moves to bump up their stylish ratings for higher reward yields at a mission's end.

Unlike Dante, Nero can rev up his sword, called Red Queen, like a motorcycle throttle, temporarily increasing its damage output. He's also got the demonic arm, called the Devil Bringer, which can be used to perform high-damage special moves. These moves differ depending on what kind of enemy types you're attacking. With basic grunts it's simply a body slam of sorts. With spiky ice creatures Nero whirls them around his head--dealing damage to others in the area--before flinging them to the ground. With spirit-powered suits of armor Nero impales them with their own lance, smashing it repeatedly against their metal husks before drilling them into a wall. It all looks very pretty, and can add significantly to your combo gauge.

The game progresses through a series of missions. Each is pretty brief, assuming you generally know what you're doing, and usually involves clearing rooms full of monsters, some light puzzle solving elements and the occasional boss fight. You walk into a room, magical doors seal the exits, and you need to kill whatever monsters spawn in to move on. Puzzle solving, at least early in the game, requires you to move around giant buzz saws to open doors, acquire magical artifacts to high-jump up successions of pedestals, and use your Devil Bringer to traverse gaps.